DePaul Women's Tennis Achieves Eighth Place in ITA Midwest Regional Rankings

CHICAGO – The DePaul women's tennis team secured the eighth spot in the Midwest Regional rankings, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) year-end rankings released on Wednesday. Junior Sasha Stula is recognized as the 19th best singles player in the region, with 14 players ranked higher.

The ITA's rating system evaluates players based on their match outcomes and the strength of their opponents, culminating in a composite score. DePaul ended the season with a team score of 19.15, while Stula led the team with a score of 16.37, where a lower score indicates a stronger player. Hannah Smith was the second-best-rated athlete from DePaul with a score of 18.51.

Finishing the season with a record of 12-11, DePaul was the top mid-major program in the Midwest, closely following No. 66 Michigan State, which ranked seventh. Since the introduction of the regional rankings in 2023, DePaul has consistently finished eighth.

In doubles, Hannah Smith and Eva Goncharov were ranked as the 10th best team in the region, mirroring the performance of Yuliya Kizelbasheva and Lenka Antonijevic, who also claimed the 10th position in 2023.

Sasha Stula is notable as the first Blue Demon to enter the regional top-20 singles list since the rankings began. She achieved a 15-4 record in dual singles matches, the best record on the No. 1 court in the entire BIG EAST conference, and recorded the highest number of wins in a DePaul season since 2016. Her season highlights included wins over then nationally ranked No. 43 Margot Phanthala and No. 63 Bianca Molnar, who finished the year ranked 13th and 10th, respectively.

2026 ITA Midwest Regional Team Rankings:

1. Ohio State

2. Michigan

3. Wisconsin

4. Notre Dame

5. Illinois

6. Northwestern

7. Michigan State

8. DePaul

9. Toledo

10. Northern Illinois

2026 ITA Midwest Regional Singles Rankings:

1. Luciana Perry, Ohio State

2. Teah Chavez, Ohio State

3. Piper Charney, Michigan

4. Maria Sholokhova, Wisconsin

5. Lily Jones, Michigan

6. McKenna Schaefbauer, Illinois

7. Ekaterina Ivanova, Wisconsin

8. Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev, Ohio State

9. Nao Nishino, Ohio State

10. Bianca Molnar, Notre Dame

11. Reese Miller, Michigan

12. Amara Brahmbhatt

13. Margot Phanthala, Northwestern

14. Emily Sartz-Lunde, Michigan

15. Audrey Spencer, Ohio State

16. Akari Matsuno, Notre Dame

17. Ellie Blackford, Michigan State

18. Jessica Bernales, Notre Dame

19. Sasha Stula, DePaul

20. Sophia Holod, Notre Dame.